Safe Travels in Japan - Ryokan Hoeiso

Hoeiso
(website is in Japanese only, Trip Advisor link here)

Kayleigh here. Even before we had started planning out our trip, we knew we wanted to spend the last couple of nights relaxing in one of Japan's famous hot spring resorts. Taking a two week vacation in a foreign country where the language barrier is omnipresent and the risk of breaking one of hundreds of little etiquette rules is terribly daunting can really take a lot out of you. And what better way to cap off the perfect trip than to soak in a hot, steaming bath as many times as you can take in one day?

To start off, we knew we wanted to find somewhere that was a true representation of the romantic portrayal of ryokans that we knew from popular media. Somewhere far away from civilization, with naturally fed hot springs to soak in and a cozy room to sit and read books all day. If it had a history to it, all the better, and an artists touch to the architecture and decorations would be the icing on the cake.

At first, our search proved more difficult than we expected. Staying at a true, traditional ryokan means that you get a kaiseki dining experience, where course after course is carefully crafted and artfully presented- a meal fit for nobility. The dishes are always excellent examples of local cuisines and seasonal ingredients, utilizing every piece of each animal and every possible preparation of the fresh produce available to them with the ingenuity of an era long passed. What were the chances of finding a ryokan that would willingly prepare gluten free meals?

After some searching and several back-and-forth emails, we finally found a place that fit what we were looking for. Using a booking website as our translator, we managed to explain Jason's intolerance to the staff at Hoeiso, and they told us they would be more than happy to make special preparations for him. We were able to double check with them once we arrived, and were quite reassured that they would still be able to accommodate the restrictions.

We ended up staying in the Shigure room, with a fantastic view of the mountain looming behind the buildings. Although we spent most of our stay relaxing and never left the property of the resort, we talked with several other guests that found quite a few things to do around the train station in Hakone and the surrounding area, but we were perfectly content exploring and appreciating all the paintings and floral arrangements scattered throughout the building, alongside liberal trips to the indoor and outdoor hot springs. Just keep in mind before booking that the baths are public and separated by gender- if you want to bathe as a couple or family, then you have to wait until the evening and reserve a half-hour slot in one of the outdoor baths.

If you are wondering why I have not talked about the food yet, it is because there really are not any words that can adequately describe it. Each meal was carefully and artfully set up on the low dining table while we soaked in the baths, then once we arrived our hostess would briefly explain to us how to eat some of the more complicated dishes before excusing herself. The table was always set with the same seating arrangement in mind, so we would know which food was gluten free. Surprisingly, though, there was very little difference between our meals- Jason would have a few different small plates and often a soy sauce substitute, but it all seemed very natural and well thought out. It did not feel like he had to make do in the slightest.

We more often than not bungled our way through the meal, with each bite being unfamiliar but extraordinarily delicious fare despite the fact that we were undoubtedly eating it wrong. From shabu-shabu to yakiniku to whole grilled fish, not to mention all the tiny side dishes- we had more than enough to eat at every meal, and often ended up leaving the rice untouched. It was a truly amazing experience, especially to have made it all the way through two days without getting glutened once.

We highly, highly recommend taking the opportunity to stay at Hoeiso for a night or two on your trip. The only things that we had to watch out for was the tea set that they kept in the room- the wrapped sweet cakes that came by default were off-limits, and one of the two teas they offered on the tray was barley. A quick sniff let us know which tea was which, but make sure not to confuse the two.

Jason here. Hoeiso was wonderful. The staff was impeccably friendly, and made sure my meals were gluten free. This must not have been easy to do, as the meals consisted of well over a dozen items each. I must admit I did have some apprehension at first as I did not want to get sick on the first night and be unable to enjoy the hot spring experience. After talking to the staff, I felt better, and after my meal was specifically labeled when they brought it to our room I felt absolutely safe. 

If you ever get to have a traditional meal, definitely give it a go. There are just so many items to choose from that you will end up trying many new delicacies. I honestly have no idea what some of the items I tried even was. Some were delicious, some I traded with Kayleigh for something more to my liking. Others, looking back, I am fairly certain were sauces or toppings which I unknowingly ate plain. I would describe the whole meal in just two words, variety and filling. I distinctly remember dinner on the first night, and after taking the last bite of the meal in front me I said, “Wow, I couldn’t possibly eat any more”. It was precisely that moment, that our second course was brought in and I knew I would be in trouble. After yet another dessert course, I was truly about to burst, but feeling very satisfied.

The hot springs themselves were a great finish to our vacation. After walking for nearly 12 hours straight on some days, my legs and feet were in for some much needed heat and relaxation. Although the hot springs were technically open to everyone at the resort, I only ever ran into someone else in the men’s hot spring once. I know Kayleigh met others on more than one occasion, so your experiences may vary. My particular favorite was the reserved outdoor hot spring. It was night just to relax with Kayleigh and enjoy the night sky, and listen to the nearby river. 

If you are spending any great length of time in Japan, be sure to stay at a ryokan for at least a day while you are there, whether it is for relaxation or to enjoy the cultural experience of a traditional meal and room.

Safe Travels in Japan - Yatagarasu and unnamed cafe

Unnamed cafe

Jason here. My second favorite restaurant we visited in Japan was café that we unfortunately could not find the name of. We did take some pictures of the sign for anyone that can read Japanese.

Hidden away in off a road in Harujuku, is this tiny little café located by walking down some stairs to basement. When you walk through the door, it’s like walking back in time with classical music playing and décor reminiscent of that era. Everything was just so relaxing and inviting, the atmosphere brings you in.

After sitting down I ordered a coffee, and Kayleigh ordered a Matcha Parfait. Depending on the coffee, I like it either black or with lots of chocolate, cream, and sugar. If it is really good flavorful coffee, with a good bit of bitterness to it I like it straight. Otherwise if it is lacking flavor, overly bitter, or already two sweet I just go crazy with additives.

Coming in a tiny little teacup, I drank my coffee plain. It was bitter, but still packing a strong coffee flavor.

If you are every walking around Harujuku, perhaps sightseeing the latest fashions, definitely find this little hidden gem and stop by for a nice relaxing cup of coffee.

Kayleigh here. It was quite a surprising find, to duck into this quiet European-style restaurant after walking through the crowded Harajuku main thoroughfare. The waiters were all crisply dressed in black and white, and the bartender was grinding the coffee beans in a wooden hand-cranked box. As if to juxtapose this, the coffee percolator itself was a series of glass globes and metal strips- looking more at home in a chemistry laboratory than a quaint painting-lined getaway.

Yatagarasu

Jason here. After taking a day trip out to Nara and walking around the park, we stopped at a restaurant called Yatagarasu to grab dinner. Nara is famous for a particular breed of chicken, and that was this restaurants specialty. 

The menu was in Japanese, and our waiter spoke only a very little bit of English so we were adventurous and ordered effectively a few random things off of the menu. We had pictures we pointed to, but there was definitely some uncertainty of what we would be getting. Luckily we had our allergy card on us, and the waiter was extremely friendly and made sure nothing contained any gluten.

We ended up ordering chicken heart (or liver?) sashimi for the both of us, grilled chicken offal rice bowl, and breast and egg soup. I had the offal rice bowl, and the soup was Kayleigh’s (we don't think that was gluten free).

We aren’t certain if we ordered sashimi chicken heart, or if it was liver. Either way it was tastier then I expected. The texture is similar to that of salmon sashimi, with a bit of an initial chewiness to it that quickly gives way. The taste itself was plain, with little to no hint of chicken. The closest flavor I can think of would be an extremely lightly flavored water. Something like rose water.

The chicken offal rice bowl was delicious. The offal was well cooked, and just tasted like chicken with a bit more flavor and richness than one would usually find. 

Kayleigh here. I would also like to vouch for the atmosphere of this place- it seemed like the sort of cozy local spot that you could easily become a regular at. Since izakayas (the tiny bars you see peppering downtown streets) were out of the picture for us, this was the one time that I really felt like we had found something unique. They had something on the menu for every part of the chicken, showcasing the unusual bits and really making them shine instead of trying to hide them in a sausage or smothering them in a overpowering sauce.

Safe Travels in Japan - Gyu Kaku

Gyu Kaku

(here is the english menu for locations in Japan)

Jason here. Now I get to review my favorite restaurant from our Japan trip, the yakiniku joint Gyu-Kaku. It took a bit to find, as it was on the third or fourth floor of a building situated off of a side road. By some miracle, a friendly local saw what must have been our obviously lost faces, and came over to give us directions. I’m not sure how, but as soon as we mentioned the restaurant name, he pointed to exactly where it was around the corner, and gave perfect instructions. This was in an area with what must have been 2 or 3 dozen restaurants within a block radius.

At a yakiniku restaurant, you order a variety of meats and vegetables which are brought to your table raw. You then cook these over a grill located at your table.
The restaurant itself utilized every inch of space, with tightly packed booths of customers, and a long bar which also had grills to sit and order food at. Gyu-Kaku was crazy busy, with new customers coming in as soon as some left. We must have arrived at just the right moment, as we were seated immediately. The pace at which customers came, foreshadowed just how good the food was going to be.
The menu had an option for unlimited food and alcohol for a set price, and we made sure to communicate no soy sauce. This is important since some dishes may be marinated in soy sauce when they are brought to the table. Gyu-Kaku has an English menu available, and there was some limited English spoken by our waiter.

We ordered beef tongue, pork, black-haired beef, scallops, shrimp, squid, bacon cubes, basil chicken, and sweet potato.

For an unlimited meal we only had a set amount of time to eat them, so we got right to cooking setting a good variety down on the grill to start.

I loved the ability to cook my own food here, as it meant I could take things off as early or as late as I want. Controlling how raw, or crispy I wanted a particular dish.

The scallops, shrimp, and squid were good, but tasted exactly like you would expect. Like everywhere we went in Japan, the shrimp were served whole so we had to figure out a way to de-shell them. I’m not sure if we followed etiquette and procedure as we did so.

The basil chicken was extremely good. This wasn’t your grocery market packaged chicken that comes out tasting dry. No this was excellently prepared chicken, where each bite bursts with flavor in your mouth. Even after I not so excellently burned a few of the pieces by leaving them on the grill too long. No matter what, these pieces kept their flavor.

The bacon cube, were massive. Easily an inch or more on each side. I left them on the grill for a while to get nice and crisp on the outside, but still juicy on the inside. Even Kayleigh enjoyed these. I’ve never had bacon that thick so it was a great experience.

I definitely recommend you pick up a side order of sweet potato fries. The various meats are delicious, but you will need a pallet cleanser now and again after eating so many foods of the salty variety. You can leave the sweet potatoes on the grill for as long as your heart desires, so you get perfectly crispy fries each time.

By far my favorite of the night was unexpectedly the thinly sliced beef tongue. Even better than the black-haired beef.  Only about a millimeter or so thick, these round slices of beef tongue grill up nice and crispy. They tasted like the most succulent steak I had ever had. If I had to pick one meal to live off of the rest of my life, it might be these.

While the meal was expensive, between the unlimited drinks and food, and the absolutely superb taste I can’t recommend Gyu-Kaku enough.

Kayleigh here. While this place was definitely Jason heaven, I thought it was such a novel concept to be allowed to use a hot grill and consume smoking food as you got progressively more intoxicated.  Seriously, though, we decided to simplify things by ordering everything at the start, and they brought the dishes out one or two at a time at the same pace we were going through them.

It was a fantastically novel experience to be able to cook your own food, since it brought a fun activity to the table. Especially when we were pulling the sweet potato slices out of their foil bowl and grilling them one by one- then had the waiter quietly let us know we were supposed to just put the bowl onto the grill. We found it embarrassingly funny to have made that faux pas, made all the more funny because we were sure we had been messing up some part of every meal since we flew in and had noone to point it out to us.

Since we ended up ordering a pretty good sampling of them here, now would be a good time to mention the chuhai. Short for Shochu Highball, it's a mixer made from a sweet potato-based alcohol and comes in a variety of fruit flavors. They are refreshing, deceptively alcoholic, and less of a girly drink than the usual wine cooler. We bought them in canned form at convenience stores and mixed at bars and never found any issues with gluten. It was great to have such a tasty beer alternative!

PF Changs Review

Jason here. Kayleigh and I love searching around for a local gluten place. However, we often don’t the luxury of time to search when are out and about or traveling. To this end we have tried to find a few chain restaurants which we could dine at no matter where we are in the country. This comes with the added difficulty of picking a place where everyone can find something they will enjoy.

One of the restaurants we go to most often when abroad is PF Changs. As far as gluten friendliness is concerned, they are absolutely top notch.

We have gone many times now, and I almost always order the GF Chang’s Spicy Chicken. I tend to get a side of white rice and mix in the chicken with rice as I go along. It reminds me of general Tso’s, but a little more sour-sweet. One of my favorite appetizers to get is the GF Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps. They are crunchy and absolutely bursting with flavor. It is has a bunch of a different flavors all working together, chicken, mushrooms, green onions, water chestnuts, and lettuce. It comes with multiple gluten free dipping sauces. I recommend the gluten free soy sauce.

One of the best parts of PF Chang’s is just how gluten friendly they are. To start they have a separate menu which you can even find online. When they bring out the food, it is in separate colored plates which mark gluten free food. All of the dipping sauces are in specially colored dishes as well. The waiters at PF Chang’s have always taken special care with our food. It is one of restaurants I feel most comfortable eating at, which makes it particularly great when traveling. No one wants to get sick on their vacation.

Kayleigh here. The level of food prep safety is especially impressive when you consider how the menu is designed- generally a family style affair, with dishes being passed around the table and people grabbing what tidbits they want. You are still welcome to doing this, as long as you keep good track of what dishes were safe, and make sure everyone at the table knows not to cross-contaminate with the utensils, particularly when serving from the bowls of rice. Worse comes to worse, keep a bowl of rice and one dish to yourself, and let the others play pass-around.